


Of Flowers and Rings

by Meynara



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 03:37:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17821109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meynara/pseuds/Meynara
Summary: Once they have returned to Earth, Hunk quickly took Romelle with him to his home, Samoa, wanting to show her where he came from, the things that had helped to shape him into the boy that flew to space, and still influenced him even now as a fully grown man and former Paladin of Voltron.





	Of Flowers and Rings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Geisterschiff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geisterschiff/gifts).



> Written for the Altea Valentine's Exchange!

Valentine’s day in Samoa wasn’t quite like anywhere else, Hunk thought to himself idly as his hand held onto Romelle’s as they left his parents’ home to walk in the warm sunlight. Up north, where most of his friends were from, where the Garrison itself was, it was colder -- even in the desert.

Maybe  **especially** in the desert.

Here, however, it was always warm and tropical, and watching Romelle as she looked about the town, watching as children played and adults conducted their business, he felt his heart swell in his chest. The two of them had been together for a few months already as a couple, and everything was going great.

Or as great as it could given their differing duties to the Galaxy Garrison and the universe at large.

The fact that they managed to get time off just in time for Valentine’s day, however, was something Hunk would be very grateful for, feeling the weight of a small, small box residing in one of the pockets on his pants. He was going to show Romelle around town, let her see what he’d grown up with, and then -- as long as courage didn’t escape him -- he would ask her to make their status a bit more  _ official _ .

He wanted everything to be perfect for that, however, and explaining everything before they got to that point? Very necessary. Luckily enough for him, even without telling, Romelle could tell something was going on, based on how people were acting a little bit differently from the day before.

“Everybody looks so  _ cheerful _ .” Romelle’s voice was somewhere between amused and curious, watching as a little girl handed a small, folded piece of paper to a woman, perhaps her mother, both grinning. “Is today an important occasion, Hunk?”

Hunk hummed for a moment, mulling words in his mind before answering. “Somewhat, it depends on who you talk to. It’s Valentine’s day. There’s a lot of historical stuff that goes with it, but it boils down to a day where people express their love for each other. There’s more of a focus on romantic love, like, you know,” he blushes a bit, giving her hand a squeeze as they continue walking down the street. “Like us. But kids get involved in it, too, and it’s just a day to show that extra special someone or  _ someones  _ in your life how much you care.”

Romelle’s face scrunched up, head tilting to the side as she looked over at him. “Shouldn’t that be something that people do every day? I don’t understand.”

“Humans are kinda weird about these things,” Hunk half-laughed. “And people, I mean, we do do things to show our love daily, a lot of us do at least, so it’s not like it’s something we don’t do? It’s just...people like to have a day they can look forward to, a specific day they can lavish more love on their people. Making it special, I guess, instead of the everyday sort of things. People will sometimes give or exchange small gifts, cards, chocolate. It depends on the people and the nature of the relationship.”

A thoughtful expression rested on Romelle’s face, the tips of her ears standing up a bit straighter than usual as she spotted a grassy area close by. Children were running through the grass, playing and enjoying themselves, but there was something else that caught her eye as she gently tugged on Hunk’s arm.

“That still seems  **strange** , but I can’t really argue against it. There’s certainly no  _ harm  _ in it.” Chewing lightly on her bottom lip, she pulled Hunk over to a space where they could relax in the grass. A plan was forming in her mind, something she wanted to do -- something big, something she’d been thinking on for a few weeks, and while many things were different between herself and Hunk, she hadn’t had much desire to rush forward into things.

Even after being in the tail end of a war, and seeing how short lived humans were in comparison, she didn’t want to rush into things, not without knowing something more about his people as a whole, rather than their small family of the Paladins and their immediate connections.

However, as she carefully tucked her skirt beneath her, slender fingers reaching for the nearest flowers, she set to work, easily splitting her attention between Hunk and the impulse she was now following.

For his part, Hunk was confused. Given they had wandered out a few times, but never had they really stopped to enjoy the bits of nature that were around, he really couldn’t blame her for wanting to sit there. (Even if it  _ did  _ push back his own plans a bit.) Without a single peep of complaint, he sat down beside her, his legs stretched out in front of him in contrast to how Romelle kept her legs tucked up beneath her.

“Yeah, it doesn’t really hurt anyone, usually. Some people get unhappy with it? Since it’s definitely more inclined towards those involved in romantic relationships, there are people who are sad, or angry, because they’re not in one. But children make them for everyone, for their friends and families. It just...shifts priorities as they grow older.” Tilting his head to the side, he brushed against Romelle’s side, leaning against it without putting weight on her, his hands behind him so he had somewhere to put his weight as he watched what she was doing, his face alight with curiosity.

Romelle’s fingers carefully weaved flowers together, grabbing more as she needed, the flowers varying colors that didn’t seem to make much sense together for all that it was vibrant. “Children love to share love, they haven’t learned that there are different kinds of love, thus they want to share it with everyone they care for. That isn’t a bad thing, it’s healthy. That is how we are as children as well, Alteans. We are taught how to share love from a young age, learning how to share that with one another in various ways. Except we didn’t limit to one day, as you do.”

His eyes remained on the thing Romelle was weaving together, shaping into a circle. “We show love on other days, it’s just...really special. One day people know to share what they have with one another. I’m afraid I’m just not explaining it well. Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I’m sure, over time, I’ll understand it better. Today is a lovely day, either way,” Romelle hums softly as the circle is completed -- though she is still adding more into the circle, making something perhaps for herself? Her eyes dart over to look at Hunk every so often, however, adjusting the size of the flower circlet. “When we are young, however, we did have days dedicated to teaching us appropriate ways to share our love with others. When it’s appropriate to share of ourselves, to give gifts, to begin courting, to ask someone to be yours for the rest of your lives.” If he looked, Hunk would see that Romelle’s hands were starting to tremble slightly. “Of course, things are different when you begin courting someone of another species. Some miscommunication happens, and what is obvious to one might not be to another.”

Hunk snorted lightly. “That’s certainly one way to put it. It’s wild thinking of how different everything is for a different species, even when they look almost identical to humans. We think because we can understand their words, and many things are similar, that everything will be similar -- only it isn’t. Those little differences make big differences, which isn’t bad? Just means we’ve both got a learning curve when learning about one another.”

“Mmhm, communication is key.” Romelle smiled as she finished what she was working on, the crown now colorful and complete as she reached up to gently place the crown atop his head. “On Altea, it was customary when one wished to ask for another’s hand, they would weave them a circlet of flowers and place it atop their head. Given the conditions I have seen elsewhere on Earth, I presume that is not the case here, but I...would still wish to ask if you would be mine, for however long we have in this plane of existence.”

There was a long, long moment as Hunk looked Romelle in the eyes, having trouble figuring out what she meant, but when he realized, his eyes widened as he moved to pull her close, hugging her tight. “I -- yes,  _ yes _ , I’ll be yours.” His face broke into a grin, one hand reaching into his pockets, pulling out the small box that had felt like it was weighing him down, opening it and passing it to her. “Humans...most of us exchange rings in the same sort of sentiment. I was -- I was going to ask you the same thing,” he chuckled, the other arm refusing to let go of her.

Carefully, Romelle took the ring out of the box, examining it, looking at the gem in the center, sunlight reflecting off of it and showing a swirl of colors. She licked her lips before looking up at Hunk with a smile and a nod. “It seems we had the same idea, then,” she giggled, taking the ring out of the box. “I think it’s fairly obvious what my answer is, though. Is there a specific finger I should wear this on…?”

Letting go of Romelle finally, he gently took the ring from Romelle’s hands before grasping her left hand, gently sliding the ring onto her left ring finger. “Yeah, this is the finger -- and it tells everyone that you’re due to marry or already married. It’s something you might have seen before?”

“Oh, yes, the Holts, they both have rings like this. I had wondered…” Romelle smiled before leaning over, closing the short distance between them and pushing him back onto the ground, following after him and pressing a soft kiss against his lips even as his arms moved to gently wrap around her waist, keeping her close. “Rings are a practical way to show such things, aren’t they?” Her hands moved to the flower crown, making sure it remained atop Hunk’s head and didn’t get lost. “Flowers are only here for a short time…”

“Short time, but it’s kinda symbolic, isn’t it?” He gives her waist a gentle squeeze before leaning up enough to brush his nose against hers. “Not that it makes it any less meaningful. I’m...really  _ really  _ happy we were on the same wavelength about this, though. So happy that we’re -- that you want this. God, we’ll have to plan a wedding and everything but, with -- with both of our cultures in it.”

Nodding, Romelle leaned down to press her face against the crook of Hunk’s neck, nuzzling against it, lost in the joy she was feeling in that moment, content to merely lay there with Hunk in the sun, laying in the grass as the sounds of children running and playing filled the background, reminding them they weren’t alone.

And that wasn’t a bad thing. Really, it was good. They were home, and they were happy.

And they were  _ together _ .


End file.
